Due to the ludicrous travel policy of the company I work for, I have been banned from using Easyjet. Instead I have to book my flights via Amex, which cost more than double. The upside to this was I landed at the conveniently close Heathrow Airport at a reasonable hour on Friday. The downside was I had to get up at 5 on Sunday in order to get to Gatwick airport (the other side of London) for a 7:30 flight. No friends or family were willing to drop me of at that hour, so that meant a further 50 pound taxi ride to the airport (and the company supposedly has the travel policy in place to save money!). Even getting up at 5 I had to be allowed to jump the queue in order to check in in time.

Thankfully, unlike last time, I wasn’t hungover and an added bonus was I arrived in Krakow before midday. I tried to check in to the hotel but as I was too early I left my bags with them and went of to the main square for a large pizza and a beer on the terrace. I returned to the hotel afterwards and took a quick siesta.

An hour or so later I wandered into the town and rented a bike. 3 hour’s hire cost me less than 3 pounds! I headed east into the hills to Kopiec Koscivszki (burial ground of some Austrian guy) and onto the woodlands of Lasek Wolski. I later followed the River Wisla for several kilometers taking the wonderful sights that Krakow offers at this time of year. I must say, it was a fantastic way to spend a sunny summer’s day in Krakow, especially having done most of the sights to death by now. The only negative was three hours on a bike served to show how woefully unfit I am.

This post was written in draft sitting once again on a terrace restaurant in the main square, while enjoying a good meal and a couple of Tyskies. I passed the evening like that watching the setting sun illuminate the main square, watching the world go by and reading my latest book. With Mats arriving on Monday, Gareth on Wednesday, and a couple of leaving drinks, this is gonna be a fun week.